Did You Hear?
by Katseester
Summary: After hearing some broken information about an anonymous figure staring at him, Byakuya is determined to let the matter rest, not caring much about gossip. But he finds that it won't rest, and that he wouldn't mind if the perpetrator was his Vice Captain.


**Bahahahahaha. I am back. From a too-long absence. Anyone else but me excited? No? Well, okay then.**

**Anyways. This was originally meant to be a oneshot, Byakuya-centric, but I just couldn't find the courage to write the rest of it, and considering I'm leaving for a week, and then my exchange partner is coming two days after I get back...I wanted to post _something_ from this, because, really, there's just not enough of this pairing out there. And because I won't have any time to do anything recreational by myself, let alone _write_ anything, when my exchange partner arrives. It's a hassle, really, cleaning the whole house out, but it's worth it.**

**Back on topic. I really really _really_ wanted to write something in Renji's POV, but no. I got Byakuya instead. And I think I did a poor job of it. But that's my opinion. Don't go away just because I said that! Also, I wanted to write about Byakuya almost hearing something scandalous. But, of course, our dear Rukia has to get in the way. So. This was born. Congratulations, you are now presented with a newborn ByaRen (or is it vice-versa?) fic. It's name is. Uhm. Let me go think on that for a while. I'll get back to you all.**

**On another note, the closing note of my ramblings, THIS IS IMPORTANT. I used the Japanese suffixes during the verbal text, but only when someone is being addressed, otherwise I used the subbed and dubbed versions during the narrative text, and some verbal text, where the person is _not_ being addressed. It's weird, I know, but somehow it makes sense. To me.**

**Go, go read now! I set you free from my boring and meaningless ramblings!**

* * *

"Kuchiki-taichou!" A group of anonymous, unseated female shinigami from the 6th division snapped to attention and saluted as aforementioned Captain glided past them, giving a small nod of his head to acknowledge them. He continued on his way, unbothered.

The group of shinigami apparently thought the Captain was out of earshot, and they broke out into excited whispering.

"I've been hearing some awfully strange things about—"

Rukia, who was walking beside her gliding brother, chose at this very moment to break into a sneezing fit, cutting the rest of the sentence off. An eruption of squeals and giggles met Byakuya's ears before she recovered.

"It's true! It's true! I've seen it with my own two eyes! Been staring at him every time he turns his back!"

"Poor Captain," a shinigami with long blonde hair whispered sympathetically, "as if he has enough troubles already! And now his own—" Rukia sneezed again. And again. It was starting to get on Byakuya's nerves.

He and Rukia were finally too far away to hear more of the conversation, yet Rukia kept glancing over her shoulder, back at the group of females. She appeared slightly disgruntled.

* * *

In the Kuchiki manor, Byakuya looked up from his work at the timid knocking on the study door. He looked back to his work and uttered a quiet "enter."

It was Rukia. She looked anxious and weary.

"What is it?" he asked, still with his eyes on his work.

"Nii-sama, about that conversation we heard earlier, don't pay any attention to it at all—" she started in a rush.

"Is that what you came here for?" He asked, interrupting her and making a neat stroke on the paper. "Do not worry about it. I take no heed of petty gossip."

"I—y-yes, Nii-sama. My deepest apologies." Byakuya spared a glance at his sister. She still looked weary, yet a little less on-edge.

"You are dismissed," he said, looking down at his work again.

"Yes, Nii-sama." Rukia stepped quietly to the doorway and slid it shut behind her.

Byakuya sighed, placed his brush down and rubbed his fingers against his temples. Despite what he said, his blatant disregard for gossip had been completely forgotten, the broken conversation ran through his mind repeatedly. Each time it was recounted in his thoughts, he had no more of an idea as to who was—Byakuya disliked using the term _staring_—looking at him in an interested manner than he did before.

Byakuya sighed again, folded his hands on the desk, and close his eyes.

"Such petty matters," he said quietly to himself, and resolved to think of it no longer.

Though, the next morning, when he caught sight of Renji's grinning eyes on him while they were sparring, he thought offhandedly that he wouldn't mind if it was his Vice Captain who had been looking at him in that interested manner.

Such thoughts caught him off guard, but he decided that, no, he didn't mind the thought of Renji looking at him more than he should.

This shocked him even further, which allowed Renji to graze his side, where blood immediately blossomed. He blocked the next attack with his Zanpaktou, and Renji drew his face close, too close.

"Come on, Captain," he hissed, his faced twisted into a gleeful grin, "I didn't expect to get a hit on you so soon. You're makin' it too easy for me!" With that, he pushed away from Byakuya and skidded to a halt 10 feet away.

"Very well," Byakuya said, and drew his sword close to his face, perpendicular to the ground. "Scatter, Senbonzakura," he murmured into the wind, and watched as Renji jumped away from the thousand tiny blades which threatened to slice his skin.

"That's better, but I'm just not feeling like this is much of a challenge, y'know?" Renji shouted down at him, sending Zabimaru flying in the wake of his words.

Byakuya shunpo'd away from the attack and surrounded Renji with the flying petal-like blades. Renji disappeared for a fraction of a second before reappearing behind Byakuya, who kept his feet planted, but turned his torso to block the oncoming blow with his Zanpaktou, which had rematerialized in his hand.

Zabimaru came down hard, and Byakuya was forced to use his left hand to steady his own blade. His eyes widened in the slightest at the brute force Renji was using.

Renji had somehow managed to snake his face right next to Byakuya's, his lips a fraction of a centimetre from his ear.

"_Two_ hands, Captain? That's a little sad, don't you think, since I'm only using Shikai?" Renji whispered right into Byakuya's ear, his hot breath blowing against the nape of Byakuya's neck, making it very hard for the Captain to think coherent thoughts. He frowned.

"No Bankai," he finally managed, giving Renji a warning glance out of the corner of his eye. "You know the rules." His voice sounded choked and flustered to his own ears, and the presence of Renji's face so close to his own was not helping matters.

"Of course, Captain," Renji sighed, his tone laced with frustration and…was that amusement?

They pushed away from each other, to which Byakuya was glad, because he didn't like how hot and bothered his Vice Captain had made him feel.

The bandages on his right hand had somehow come loose. Byakuya ignored the fluttering feeling on his palm. He also tried to ignore his heavy breathing, but was faced with the inevitable. He was not healed enough to engage in a fight for too long.

"This session is over," he said monotonously, and turned to leave, sheathing his Zanpaktou in a fluid movement.

"What?" Renji shouted incredulously, all traces of amusement gone from his voice. "But it was just getting good!"

Byakuya turned back to his Vice Captain. "You know very well that my injuries have not healed, seeing as you were so persistent to keep my company not a week ago at the 4th division," he said in a leveled, controlled voice.

"Renji was stomping towards him. "Injuries, so what! I wouldn't let a thing like that stop me!"

"And that," Byakuya said, his annoyance seeping into his voice, "is what separates us, Abarai. 'A thing like that' is sometimes the deciding factor of a battle, the difference enough to have you killed. Do you understand?"

"I—"

"I do not wish to repeat myself again. _Do you understand_?" Byakuya snapped.

Renji looked abashed. "Yes, Captain," he muttered.

Byakuya turned once again to leave the training grounds.

"But, Captain, I don't understand, why we didn't use Bankai," Renji called after him.

Byakuya turned back. "For the reasons I have just listed, Abarai," he replied.

"But, Captain, we weren't fighting to kill. I mean, we were holding back. I just don't see why—"

"Enough!" Byakuya almost shouted. Almost. His reiatsu flared for a moment before he pulled it back to a controlled level. "This Abarai, is exactly what I am talking about. These things set us apart; this way of thinking separates the Captains from the Vice Captains. I will hear no more of this foolish discussion."

"Yes…Captain," Renji muttered, subdued.

Byakuya, instead of turning away again, stood for a moment before walking past Renji, his destination changed.

As he stepped by his Vice Captain, he noticed the tense expression on his face, the fists clenched at his side, shaking slightly. He also noticed the faint smell of tobacco on the air that lingered even as the wind blew all remnants of their mock battle (a lot of dust and a few blades of grass) into oblivion.

What he noticed above all, though, was that even though Renji's eyes were slits of dejection (and perhaps anger), they were focused on the graze he had inflicted, where a little blood had stained his haori.

Byakuya quickly made his way to the Kuchiki manor instead of the 6th division office, as he had initially planned, and proceeded to lock himself in his study. He thought long and hard, about how easily his thoughts had been influenced by his Vice Captain's movements, how he couldn't seem to counter-attack because he was focusing too much on how close Renji's face was to his, and how Renji's hot breath on the nape of his neck had rendered him incapable of mere competent _thought_, much less a tactic to counter their positions.

As he thought, he absent-mindedly picked up his brush and twirled it between his fingers.

He maybe thought the longest about why he had become so agitated at Renji's behaviour, why he had snapped, even though Renji's question had not been antagonistic. Annoying, maybe a little stupid, but no reason for Byakuya to lose his carefully composed mask of indifference.

Byakuya did not want to, but he found himself pondering over why he had noticed so much about Renji, right down to the tendons in his hands, tense and raised against his skin. He even noticed (sub-consciously, at the time) that Senbonzakura had indeed cut Renji, just below his cheekbone; a small cut that didn't even bleed.

He had not realized how late in the afternoon his pondering had taken him until he heard knocking on the study door. He moved to open it.

Rukia stood in the hall. A look of great relief came over her face when she saw her brother.

"Yes, Rukia?" He prompted.

"Nii-sama, I've been looking for you. You've been missing since before lunch, you've almost missed your meeting with Ukitake-taichou and Shunsui-taichou. I thought you might be here…" she trailed off.

Byakuya cursed quietly under his breath. "You must excuse me, Rukia. I'm afraid I was caught up in my work." He didn't bother gesturing to his desk, where his untouched paperwork sat.

He brushed past her and shunpo'd away from the manor. He did not know that Rukia had seen a stray piece of paper set apart from the pile of work, and that Rukia, being curious as she was, of course picked it up and read the jotted, yet neat, words to herself.

_- Smelled of tobacco, yet that scent is strangely endearing, if only in his case._

_- Seemed to be holding back, despite complaining about the restriction of Bankai._

_- Seemed to enjoy pointing out faults in my stance, caused my previous injury._

_- Was persistent in forcing his way through my guard (failed)._

_- Strands of hair came__ loose during fight; outlined his face in a more or less irresistible manner. _

_- Found myself unable to think properly at some points._

Rukia gaped at the paper for a few moments, staring at the words which obviously displayed her brother's attraction for the "he" portrayed in the neat strokes, before smirking almost wickedly to herself. She'd known for quite a while now that her brother harboured feelings for Renji, however discreet, though she didn't know how he could be so oblivious to them. Even now, he was only wondering why he noticed such things about his Vice Captain.

Renji was the only one this paper could be talking about, because, of course, he was the only one in all of Soul Society who actually smuggled cigarettes back from the world of the living, and was actually brave enough (or stupid enough, in Rukia's opinion) to smoke them regularly enough to have the smell linger around him.

"I never really knew if his habit of writing out his thoughts was a good one or a bad one," she mumbled more to herself, setting the paper down. "Working, my foot…" she added as and afterthought, and left the study.

* * *

**I really didn't mean for it to end with Rukia, in fact, I didn't mean for it to end there at all. But worry not! It is far from complete. I'll just have to write alot during the next week to get it done. And besides, Rukia's knowing of Byakuya's attraction for Renji comes in handy later. I know, I know, she _already_ knew, but this gives her _proof_. Yes. Proof. Sort of.**

**I'm still cringing from the point of view change...I'm so sorry!**

**Arg. Byakuya is hard to write. I'm not kidding. I like writing the brash, outbursty types of characters, so this sort of threw me off a bit. He's fun to write, don't get me wrong, but it's hard.**

**I feel I could have done better on the beginning-ish part, but I just couldn't think of anything.**

**But I'm happy to say that I know lots of things about Bleach, so I didn't have to research to find out the terms and whatnot. Hoorah for me.**

**Aside from everything, I hope you enjoyed this! I'll try updating it when I get back.**


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